Apparatus for conditioning shoe bottom fillers



C. F. EATON Nov. 17, 1936.

APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING SHOE BOTTOM FILLERS Filed May 25, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 c. F. EATON Nov. 17, 1936.

APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING SHOE BOTTOM FILLERS Filed May 25, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 17, 1936. C AT N v 2,061,226

APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING SHOE BOTTOM FILLERS Filed May 25, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig.3. J7

Nov. 17, 1936. Q EATON 2,061,226

APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING SHOE BOTTOM FILLERS Filed May 25, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. 17, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING SHOE BOTTOM FILLERS Application May 25, 1935, Serial No. 23,405

4 Claims. (01. 18-1) This invention relates to shoe filling apparatus, and particularly to apparatus for conditioning shoe bottom filler preparatory to laying and spreading the filler in the bottom cavities of 5 shoes and the combination of such conditioning apparatus with a shoe filling press by which the filler is spread and leveled in the bottom cavities of shoes, although certain features of the invention are useful in connection with the man- 10 ual filling of shoes and are independent of a shoe filling press.

The apparatus is especially designed for handling shoe bottom filler pieces of the general character described by the Thoma Patent No. 1,793,340, dated February 17, 1931, consisting of individual sheet-like units composed essentially of heat-plastic filler composition, each unit being suitable for the filling of a single shoe bottom cavity, as distinguished from so-called bulk filler which is usually conditioned in bulk or in mass from which the required amount of filler for each shoe bottom cavity is segregated and dipped out by a hand tool.

The principal object of the invention is to provide conditioning apparatus for shoe filler in piece form and the combination of such apparatus with a filling press so organized and constructed as to facilitate the operation of filling shoes with piece filler.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus viewed from the left of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail on line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged bottom plan view of one 40 of the heated sections of the Work table; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan view of one of the lozenge shaped filler pieces of the kind used in the apparatus.

The apparatus herein illustrated comprises a standard I having a base (not shown) adapted to rest upon and be fastened to the floor so that the top of the standard is about waist high. As shown in Fig. 3, the upper part of the web of this standard is formed with two parallel vertical slots II, through which extend bolts I2 by means of which a vertically adjustable fixture, consisting of a pair of bracket arms I3, is rigidly fixed to the web of the standard I0 but may be vertically adjusted to vary the height of the parts carried thereby.

Seated on the upper end of the bracket arms I3 is a shelf-supporting head l4 which is fastened to said bracket arms I3 by screws I (Figs. 2 and 4). An additional bracket I6 is bolted to one of the bracket arms I3, as best shown in Fig. 1. The standard of the machine is thus in efiect made in two sections which can be relatively adjusted vertically, one of said sections consisting of the upright member I0 and the other consisting of the adjustable fixture made up of bracket arms I3, head I4 and bracket 16. All the working parts of the apparatus are carried by this adjustable fixture and may be raised or lowered in unison to suit the convenience of the height of the operator.

On the top side of the shelf-supporting head I4 are three upstanding bosses I1, each provided on its top end with a layer I8 of asbestos or other suitable heat insulating material (Fig. 4) which serves both as a seat and a heat insulator for a metal shelf or work table having a smooth, fiat, top surface. The work table is composed of three sections I9, each rigidly fixed upon one of the insulating seats I8 by two screws 20, which extend upwardly through holes provided in the head I4 and the insulation I8 into tapped holes in the under side of the table section.

Each table section I 9 is made on its under side with a centrally disposed circular boss 2I to seat upon the insulation I8. Surrounding this boss is an electrical heating unit 22 in the form of an annulus fastened against the bottom of the table section by three clamps 23. Each heating unit 22 is made with three binding posts 24 connected as usual with the heating coils so that when associated with a suitable switch of known construction (for example, one of the three switches 25 shown in Fig. 1) each heating unit can be individually turned on and oif and can also be regulated to give three degrees of heat,-high, medium and low. The switches 25 are mounted on the head I4 and each is connected by the usual wiring, not shown, with the binding posts of one of the heating units, said wiring including a fiexible cable 26 at one end of the head M, the end of the cable 26 being provided with a plug 21 adapted to be coupled to a socket 28 (Fig. 1), through which current is supplied to the heaters.

The tops of the table shelf sections I9 are horizontally aligned and placed close together in a row to form in eifect an elongated shelf or table which is disposed immediately in front of a supply bin, indicated generally at 29, for holding supplies of shoe filler pieces. The supply bin comprises a skeleton framework 30 to which are 55 secured panels of foraminous sheet material, such as wire fabric. The bin thus formed comprises a bottom wall 3!, a rear wall 32, vertical end walls 33, and two vertical partitions 34, by

which the bin is divided into three compartments, one compartment for each of the three tablesections. The front edge of the bottom of the bin is substantially on a level with and closely adjacent to the rear edge of the work table, so that material from the bin may be readily discharged directly upon the table, the bin and each compartment thereof being open on the front side toward the table.

The front edge of the bin is pivotally supported on the head l4 by means of a pair of depending lugs 35, one at each end of the bin, pivoted on a pair of studs 36 provided on the ends of the head M to the rear of the work table l9. The rear of the bin is supported by an extensible and contractible post made up of a tubular base 31, whose lower end rests on the floor, and an upper section 33 telescopically fitted into the tubular base section 31 and fastened in adjusted position by means of a set screw 39. The upper end of the post section 38 is pivotally connected to the bottom of the bin at 40. This rear support may be vertically adjusted independently of the adjustment of the main standard, so that the bottom of the bin may be inclined downwardly toward the work table l9 to the extent desired for facilitating the discharge of the shoe filler pieces from the bin to the table but without substantially disturbing the relation of the front edge of the bottom of the bin to the rear edge of the table, the front edge of the bin being pivoted to the standard close to the rear edge of the table.

The several compartments of the bin are loaded with pieces of heat plastic filler of the kind, for example, illustrated at F in Figs. 4 and 6. The pieces in each compartment may differ in size from those of the other compartments, for use in diiferent sizes or kinds or styles of shoes. In filling a shoe the operator uses a spatula somewhat resembling a putty knife, by means of which he rakes or pushes one or more filler pieces of the required size forwardly from the bin on to the heated section IQ of the work table directly in front of the compartment from which the pieces are removed. When the pieces have been brought to the proper temperature and consistency upon the heated work table, the operator transfers them by means of the spatula to the bottom cavity of the shoe to be filled. If the filling is to be done by hand, the operator then presses the piece down in the shoe bottom cavity, spreads it, levels it, and smooths it with the spatula in the usual way.

If the filling is to be done by machine, the operator, after depositing the piece in the shoe bottom cavity, inserts the forepart of the shoe, bottom upwards, in the shoe filling press indicated generally at 42, resting the forepart of the shoe upon the rubber covered roll 4| of the press, where it is positioned directly below a heated spreading platen 43. The platen 43 is loosely connected to a platen carrier or head 44, 45, so that it can rock in any direction and exert a yielding pressure on the filler piece when the platen is forced down upon the shoe bottom to spread and level the filler. For the general operation of a shoe filling press, reference may be had to the Eaton Patent No. 1,927,279, dated September 19, 1933. Although the press herein illustrated differs in certain respects from that shown in said patent, the principle of operation is similar. The upper end of the carrier member 44 is pivotally connected at 46 with a lever arm 41 fulcrumed at 48 within a yoke provided on the top of a hollow standard 49, which constitutes a part of the frame of the press. A spring 50 connects the rearwardly extending arm of lever 41 to the frame of the press and yieldingly holds the forwardly extending arm of the lever, the platen carrier 44, 45, and the platen 43 in elevated position. The forwardly extending arm of the lever 41 is made with a handle by means of which the operator forces the platen 43 downwardly against the filler in the shoe resting upon the roller shoe support 4! and thereby spreads and levels the filler in the shoe bottom cavity. A guide link 52 pivoted at one end to the frame of the press at 53 and at the opposite end to the carrier section 44 at the point 54 cooperates with the lever 41 to guide the press head and platen during its upward and downward movements and to hold the platen in approximately horizontal position.

Within the hollow standard 49 of the press is mounted a push button switch 55 (Fig. 1) whose buttons are accessible for operation from the exterior of the standard. The switch 55 controls the circuit of an electrical heating unit 56 (Fig. 3) forming part of the platen 43. The heating unit 56 and its switch 55 are connected in series in a branch circuit which is supplied with current from a main circuit cable 51 entering the hollow standard 49 near the top. The socket 28 is in a second branch circuit supplied by cable 51, said second branch circuit being in parallel with the first branch circuit containing switch 55 and heating unit 56. The heating units 22 of the work table and their switches 25 are in said second branch circuit, but the two branch circuits are independently operable.

The press 42 may be provided with a tool holder 58 of usual construction provided with'a slot or slots to receive the blade of the tool and having an electrical heating unit which is preferably included in the first-mentioned branch circuit in series with the heating unit 56 and switch 55. The operator is usually provided with two or more spreading tools so that at least one is being heated while another is in use.

The press 42 is conveniently associated with the work table and is preferably positioned near one end of the table. It is mounted on the free end of a swinging bracket 59, which is pivoted on a vertical axis to the bracket .l6forming part of the vertically adjustable fixture of the main standard. Thus the press can be adjusted angularly with relation to the work table and. horizontally forward and backward to a position most convenient to the operator or most accessible to that one of the work table sections in use. The bracket 59 may be fastened in its adjusted position by means of a set screw 6| bearing against the pivot spindle 69.

I claim:

1. A shoe filler conditioning apparatus comprising a supply bin divided into a plurality of compartments each having an open front, a work table in front of the supply bin and so positioned as to receive material discharge from the several compartments, and means individually to heat the several sections of the work table which are respectively adjacent to the several compartments.

2. Shoe filling apparatus comprising a work table, a bin having a bottom whose front edge is 7 closely adjacent to the rear edge of the table, a shoe filling press associated with said table, a standard including a vertically adjustable fixture by which the table, the press and the front edge of the bin are supported, and a bracket carrying the press and pivotally mounted on said fixture on a vertical axis whereby the press may be horizontally and angularly adjusted with relation to the table.

3. Shoe filler conditioning apparatus comprising a work table and a bin having its bottom inclined downwardly toward the table, the front edge of said bottom being closely adjacent to the rear edge of the table, a shoe filling press associated with said table, a standard by which the table, the press and the front edge of the bin are supported, means to adjust the table, the press and the front edge of the bin in unison vertically on the standard, and an independent vertically adjustable support for the rear of the bin.

4. Shoe filler conditioning apparatus comprising a base member, a supply bin pivotally mounted on said base member and having an open front, a work table mounted on said base member in front of said supply bin and positioned so as to receive filler material discharged from said supply bin, and means carried by said work table for conditioning the filler discharged from said bin.

CHARLES F. EATON. 

